The present invention relates to writing devices, and more particularly to a lighted writing device, and most particularly to a lighted device having a shaped head portion at its top.
A myriad of writing instruments exist. In particular a myriad of stick-pen-type writing instruments exist, such as the popular Bic(copyright) brand stick-type pens. Typically, a stick pen comprises a tubular body having an open first end and a closed second end. An ink-filled barrel, is coupled to a colorant delivery system, such as a ballpoint dispenser that dispenses an ink-type colorant. In a pencil type writing instrument, the colorant dispenser would comprise a graphite based pencil lead. The ink-containing barrel is inserted into the open end of the hollow tubular body, and frictionally engaged thereto. The ink dispensing member, such as the ball, extends axially outwardly past the tubular body, and is positioned for engaging a sheet of writing material, such as paper.
The ball-shaped ink dispenser is disposed at the very end of the ink dispenser, and actually engages the paper. Through means well known, the ball dispenses ink onto the paper in response to the frictional engagement of the ball with the paper, as the ball is moved along the paper, and rolls within its ball capture.
In recent years, a variation-on the stick pen has been sold by the Killion Corporation d/b/a The Bentcil Company of Indianapolis, Ind., wherein the stick pen includes a decorative head portion at its distal (top) end. The decorative head portion often appears as a creative and fanciful shape, such as a star, a heart, an alligator or an outline of a shirt. Examples of such shape-topped stick pens can be seen at www.bentcil.com.
A shape headed pen usually comprises a stick pen having a tubular body portion that has been elongated, although normal-length tubular bodies can be used. For example, a typical Bic(copyright) brand stick pen has a body portion that is approximately 5.25 inches long. By comparison, a shape headed stick pen may utilize a body portion having a length, for example, of 11 to 14 inches. The body undergoes a forming operation so that the top (head) portion of the body is formed into a fanciful and decorative non-linear shape, while the lower portion of the body is allowed to remain linear. Usually, the linear lower portion of the finished shape pen will have a length that is generally similar to the length one might expect of a typical non-shape-topped pen.
Although the shape headed pen may be formed from a tubular body member having an initial length of between 11 and 14 inches, the finished pen will typically have an overall length that is substantially shorter. For example, the finished length may only be 7 to 10 inches in length, when measured in a straight line from the top of the shaped head to the ink-dispensing ball. The overall length is shortened from the original 11 to 14 inches since the shaped-top is formed by bending the upper portion into any one of a large variety of shapes that contain non-axially extending portions. For example, among the shapes into which the pens can be formed are shapes of letters, numbers, symbols such as $, hearts, hands, horses, ice skates, ice cream cones, houses, sharks, dolphins, hard hats, peppers, automobiles, outlines of states and countries, cartoon characters, and the like.
Over the years, the Applicant""s products have enjoyed significant success in a wide variety of markets, including for example, the mass merchandise market, and the xe2x80x9csouvenir marketxe2x80x9d. Additionally, a large market for such products also exists within the promotional products market, often known as the advertising speciality market. Advertising speciality products comprise products that are purchased by a company for use in promoting the company""s non-related products. To this end, customers have purchased pens and pencils having hockey stick-shaped heads to promote ice hockey teams and ice hockey-theme restaurants; body outline-shaped heads to promote coroners"" services; animal shapes to promote political parties; tool shapes to promote hardware stores, shark shapes to promote legal services; and logo-shapes to promote a company""s products through the use of its logo.
In order to form the head shape of a pen having a shape headed pen, the upper portion of an elongated pen body is heated, so that it becomes bendable. Forms and/or molds may or may not be provided around which the body can be bent to help the manufacturer bend the body into the appropriate shape. The body is then cooled, so that the body portion loses its bendability and the shape of its head becomes fixed.
Although the discussion above has related to pens having a shaped top, pencils having plastic (as opposed to wood) barrels can also be bent in order to have shaped heads.
The Applicant and the company that he founded, the Killian Corporation has had great success in selling such shape-containing writing instruments. Merchandisers have found such shaped pencils and pens to be popular items for patrons to purchase, especially at gift shops in entertainment attractions, such as theme parks, ball parks, tourist-type venues and the like. Additionally, the Applicant and the Killion Corporation have had great success in selling such theme-shaped writing instruments within the advertising speciality market, to companies and groups that use the pens to promote their goods or services.
Notwithstanding the significant sales success and appeal of these products, room for improvement still exists. In particular, room for improvement exists in providing a product that is different, and new, when compared to the shape headed pencils and pens discussed above.
The Applicant has found that product uniqueness and utility are very prized features of products within the gift and advertising speciality markets. Although the prior art shape headed pens and pencils described above have great utility, and are very unique, it is beneficial to provide a product that has similar utility to the prior art writing instruments described above, but which is unique, and different when compared to these prior art writing instruments.
Uniqueness is prized because one of the goals of such advertising speciality products is to capture the attention of the persons to whom they are given, as these persons are often existing or potential customers of the company purchasing the shape headed writing instruments. By capturing the attention of the recipient of the pen, the recipient of the pen will tend to remember the product advertized on the pen for a longer period of time. By better remembering the advertised product (or service), it is hoped that the recipient will also remember the company when the person is in the market to purchase a product of the type advertized on the pen, and that this memory will positively affect the recipient""s buying decision.
As such, since a positive correlation likely exists between the uniqueness and utility of the product, and the impact that it makes upon the recipient""s buying decisions, a unique product, especially within the advertising speciality market, may benefit the company whose products are advertised with the shaped head writing instruments.
One way of making such a writing instrument unique, is to make the writing instrument lighted.
Lighted writing instruments are believed to have existed prior to the present invention. One method of making such a lighted writing instrument is to provide a generally solid piece of a clear or tinted methyl methacrylate, and to affix a bulb at one end thereof. The light emanating from the bulb passes through the methyl methacrylate in a tube-lighting or fiber optic-type manner.
Although such lighted pens have some desirable characteristics, room for improvement exists. In particular, it is the Applicant""s belief that such tube-lighting type lighted pens do not often provide good lighting characteristics, as the xe2x80x9ctubexe2x80x9d of the tube lighted pen does not transmit light well around the complex bent shapes that are often employed in shape headed writing instruments. Additionally, the lighting effects that can be achieved with tube lighting are limited. As such, room for improvement exists in the delivery of the lighting effect produced by lighted pens.
One object of the present invention is to provide a lighted writing device wherein the writing device becomes lighted along the substantial length of the body portion, to produce an enhanced lighting effect, when compared to some known prior art lighted pens.
In accordance with the present invention, a lightable writing instrument comprises a first end portion including a colorant dispenser. The instrument also includes a middle portion including a component housing; and a second end portion including a generally tubular body portion having an interior passageway therein. A lightable filament is disposed in the interior passageway and extends along a portion of the interior passageway.
A shaped head portion can be disposed at the distal end of the body portion, and is preferably integral with the body portion.
Preferably, the body portion is generally hollow and tubular, and is comprised of a transparent or translucent material, that may either be clear or tinted to impart color to the body portion. A lighted filament member extends through the interior of the body portion, and into at least a portion of the non-linear shape. The filament member is capable of emitting light along its length. The electrical control portion includes a power source for providing electrical power to the filament, to cause the filament to emit light when so actuated to do so.
One feature of the present invention is that a light emitting filament is disposed within the hollow interior of the body portion, to extend into the shaped distal (head) end of the writing instrument. Preferably, the filament is designed so that it can emit light along its length. This feature has the advantage of being capable of providing a pen wherein light is emitted along most of the length of the distal portion writing instrument, including the entire length of the shaped head portion, if so desired.
Alternately, portions of the lighted filament can be shrouded or substituted with another material, so that the light emitting portion of the pen body is confined to a certain area. In this way, for example, the filament can be shrouded along the generally linear, hand-engaging portion of the body portion of the pen, but uncovered in the shaped head portion, so that the shaped head alone emits light along its length, while the generally linear, hand-engaging portion of the body portion remains dark.
Another feature of one embodiment of the present invention is that it can include an enlarged diameter electrical component casing disposed near to, but in a spaced relation from the point of the pen. This feature has a dual advantage. First, it provides a casing for housing the electrical components, such as the batteries, switch, connectors, and associated operational circuitry. Second, it provides an enlarged diameter gripping surface, of the type that many believe to increase the comfort of a person writing with the writing instrument.
These and other features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a review of the drawings presented below, along with a description set forth below that describes the best mode of practicing the invention perceived presently by the Applicant.